Need Help! Good deal on pure latex bliss - Nature - or maybe not?

[phoenix]

Hi Jeffblue,

We discussed price on the mattress which supposedly starts at 3500, but of course its on “sale” at 2600 for the mattress and platform set. I told the salesman that was too much for me to rationalize spending on a bed and he asked what my budget was and i told him 2,000. He asked if i needed the platform or not, and i said no because i figured i could just put the mattress on a platform bed and save some money on the base/platform/base layer. he came back to me with a price of 1,999 for JUST the mattress, plus 90 delivery charge and tax, so approximately 2270 out the door.

It’s probably a good idea to avoid the PLB foundation anyway because IMO they aren’t the best choice for one of the PLB mattresses and there are many retailers that don’t sell them with their PLB mattresses (see my comments in post #44 here and the posts and pictures it links to).

So that is where i stand now and this is what i am starting to wonder.

1. is the 2,000 price for a PLB Nature in a queen with NO accessories a good deal? After browsing this forum i’m starting to think that 2,000 for a PLB Nature mattress only Queen is NOT a particularly good deal but i would love some confirmation on this.

There are many factors involved in assessing the “value” of a mattress purchase besides just the commodity cost based on the price per inch of latex or the cost per pound or yard of fabric. It also depends on how well it matches your specific needs and preferences in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences), and on how it compares to other mattresses you are considering or that are available to you in terms of the type and quality of the materials and the risks involved in a mattress purchase. There is more about this in post #13 here. The price you are being quoted is a fair price for a latex mattress with 10" of blended Talalay latex and a good quality cover but may not be in the “best” value range for some people if you only look at the “commodity” value of a mattress.

PLB is also going through a chapter 11 bankruptcy (see this topic and this topic and this topic) which has led to some retailers having delays in their deliveries and some retailers may want to replace them with something else on their showroom floor so there may be more dealers that are willing to sell them for lower prices in spite of the fact that they are high quality mattresses. PLB has MAP pricing (minimum advertised pricing) so the only way to make an exact “value” comparison would be by comparing the mattress you are buying with the same mattress sold by a different retailer and talking to them on the phone about the price they would charge (websites will have MAP pricing). Post #32 here includes some of the online PLB retailers that will ship across the country that you can use to compare the prices you would be paying for the Nature. Once you are comparing a different mattress to the PLB then any comparisons would become much more subjective and based on all the criteria that are most important to you outside of just price because even if they have the same amount of latex and a similar type and quality of cover they may feel completely different and may include different options both before and after a purchase that would also be factored into their prices.

2. Is an exchange only return policy with a 200 dollar restocking fee an acceptable ‘return policy’ in the industry?

The cost of exchange and return policies are built into the cost of a mattress as a “hidden” cost so this would be a matter of your own preferences because the people who don’t return or exchange a mattress are paying for the ones that do (see post #3 here and the posts it links to). If you are completely confident in your testing that a mattress is a good match for you in terms of PPP and you are one of the majority that don’t need to exchange or return a mattress then an exchange or return policy would be an added cost that you would end up paying for no reason. If you are one of the minority that doesn’t make the best choice the first time … then the additional costs of dealing with a store that has a return or exchange policy may be worth it. In other words … it all depends on how confident you are that the mattress you are choosing will be suitable for you in terms of PPP. In the mainstream industry exchange policies are much more common but can also be a profit center because in many cases the exchange will be for a higher priced mattress where you pay the difference in cost and sometimes other costs as well. In some cases if there are no other mattresses in the store that would be suitable for you or that you would want to purchase you may end up with a credit that has little value to you. Return/refund policies are much less common in the mainstream industry but they are more common with online purchases because of the additional risk involved in buying a mattress that you can’t test ahead of time. There is no right or wrong or “acceptable or unacceptable” here … only tradeoffs that each person can asses for themselves that can make a purchase more or less risky for you based on your own confidence and “risk tolerance” and in combination with the tradeoff of higher prices than you would otherwise be paying.

3. is the manager just trying to get me back into the store so he can cut me some sort of deal on the queen set, possibly giving me a lower price or throwing in some extras? Even if he does should i still be weary of the ‘no returns, exchange only’ policy?

This I can’t know and the only way to find out will be based on your own experience.

4. Now that i know what i want in a bed in terms of feel, am i better off just ordering online from someplace like sleep EZ?

While the quality of the materials would be the same (assuming you are considering a SleepEz mattress that also uses blended Talalay), this would depend entirely on which purchase was most “valuable” to you based on the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you. Only you can decide this. SleepEZ is one of the members here and they compete well with the best in the country but only you can decide on which mattress is the best value for you. You would be buying a different mattress with a different design that would have a different type of feel and performance in terms of PPP but you would also have many options after your purchase to fine tune the mattress by either rearranging or exchanging layers and you would also have a the “security” of a return policy that has a very low cost involved. On a cost per inch of latex basis and if you factor in the higher cost of a quilted wool cover it would be a better “commodity value” but this would only be important if it was just as suitable for you (or possibly even more suitable in one of its configurations) as the Nature in terms of PPP.

5. Should i just give up on PLB and look into Sleep EZ, or try to get a better deal on PLB Nature from a more flexible retailer (return policy, pricing)?

If it was me I would try to find the best price (or actually the best “value” taking into account the return and exchange policies as well) for the Nature that is available to you and then make a final choice see post #2 here between that and SleepEZ based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

6. is hoping that 2,000 dollars can purchase a full queen set (mattress, base) of a PLB Nature type mattress in talalay latex that unrealistic?

I don’t know the current “best price” for a Nature across the country but if you take off about $300 from your budget for a good quality foundation then finding a queen size Nature for $1700 may be possible depending on how badly a retailer wants to sell them or you may be able to find a floor model for even less but you are looking at a cost that would be more difficult to find if you can find it at all.

If it makes any difference i am 5’4" 160lb, 26y/o, healthy no joint pain. Stomach sleeper mostly but sometimes side sleeper as well.

Nobody else can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for someone else to make suggestions about which mattress is best for you based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” so choosing a mattress that is the best “match” for you in terms of PPP is the part of your research that only you can decide (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).

Phoenix